A new rumour out of Japan suggests that a powertrain may be introduced in the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser Prado which may be revealed in 2023. Earlier this year, we heard rumours from key figures that a hybrid-electric diesel powertrain was under development for future commercial and passenger SUVs and bakkies.
As Best Car Web reports, in a push towards a carbon-neutral product line by 2030, the hybrid-electric diesel may debut on the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser Prado but will quickly be rolled out into models such as the Land Cruiser 300, Hilux, Fortuner and even Quantum. These cars are currently not available with a hybridised powertrain. It’s believed that this this new mill could replace the current 3,5-litre turbodiesel mill.
The next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser Prado will be expected to break cover in 2023 but this engine may only be introduced to the range the following year. Supplementing this system will also be a “clean diesel” project for the brand’s off-road and commercial line-up to minimise impact on the environment.
With the introduction of this engine for its future line-up, Toyota aims for a hybrid-electric offering within all passenger car and commercial vehicle models sold in Japan; this excludes the GR range.
A previous rumour sourced from the same publication suggested that the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser Prado could adopt a twin-turbodiesel 2,8-litre to replace the current GD-6 mill. It also hinted that the SUV will get an evolutionary design and it will have similar dimensions to the current model, although the wheelbase is expected to grow by about 50 mm.
The report mentioned earlier suggested that by 2030, electrified variants of products like the Hilux and Land Cruiser 300 will be partially electrified with the possibility of a fully electric model being produced further down the line.
